Cash Payments in Bulgaria 2026: Limit, Receipts, Cash Book

In 2026, any payment in Bulgaria of BGN 10,000 or more, which is €5,112.92, must go through a bank. The same applies to smaller payments that form part of linked payments on one basis totalling at least that amount. Dividends of €511.29 or more must also be paid only to an account. A breach is fined at 50% of the payment for a company and 25% for an individual. Separately, every sale paid in cash or by card at business premises must be registered with a fiscal receipt at the moment of payment.

The cash payment limit in 2026

The Limitation of Cash Payments Act still states the amount in leva. Under Art. 11(2) of the Euro Introduction Act, amounts in leva in existing legislation are read as euro amounts at the rate of 1.95583, using the rounding rules. Under Art. 3(1) of the Act, payments within Bulgaria must be made only by transfer or deposit to a payment account when they are:

Case	Threshold in the law	Euro equivalent
Single payment	BGN 10,000 or more	€5,112.92
Linked payments on the same basis (e.g. instalments under one contract)	total of BGN 10,000 or more	€5,112.92
Dividend	BGN 1,000 or more	€511.29
Wages from an employer with 100 or more employees	no threshold	any amount

The rule also covers payments in foreign currency whose euro equivalent reaches the threshold, at the BNB rate on the payment date (Art. 3(2)). For wages from large employers there are exceptions for short-term seasonal farm work, seasonal workers and certain third-country nationals.

Also note that dual circulation ended on 31 January 2026. Cash payments are now accepted only in euro.

When the limit does not apply

The Act does not apply (Art. 2) to:

cash withdrawals from and deposits to your own payment accounts;
withdrawals and deposits to accounts of persons lacking legal capacity, spouses and direct relatives;
professional foreign-currency exchange in cash;
operations to which the BNB is a party, and banks replacing damaged notes and coins;
payment of wages, except by employers with 100 or more employees;
payout of guaranteed deposits.

So an owner may withdraw cash from the company account. But paying a supplier €6,000 with that cash breaks the law, because the payment itself is above the threshold.

Penalties

The fine for an individual is 25% of the whole payment, and the penalty for a legal entity is 50%. For a repeat offence within one year, these rise to 50% and 100% respectively (Art. 5). Breaches are established by the NRA (Art. 6). The penalty applies to anyone who "commits or allows" the breach, so both payer and recipient are exposed.

Example

A company buys equipment for €8,000 under one contract and pays it in two cash instalments of €4,000. Each instalment is below the threshold, but they are linked payments on one basis totalling more than €5,112.92. They fall under Art. 3(1)(2). The possible penalty is 50% × €8,000 = €4,000. With a bank transfer there is no penalty.

Fiscal receipts: when they are mandatory

Every business, whether VAT-registered or not, must register its sales at business premises with a fiscal receipt from a fiscal device or a system receipt, even if the customer asked for another document (VAT Act Art. 118(1)). A receipt is issued for payments in cash, by card, cheque, voucher or other cash substitute (Art. 118(3)). It is issued at the moment of payment and handed to the customer immediately (Ordinance N-18, Art. 25(6)).

No receipt is issued when payment is made (Ordinance N-18, Art. 3(1)):

by bank: transfer, direct debit or deposit to your payment account;
as a cash money remittance through a payment service provider;
as a postal money order through a licensed postal operator. The customer then receives a document with the sale details.

Failing to issue a receipt carries a penalty for a company or sole trader of BGN 1,000 to 4,000 (about €511.29 to €2,045.17) (VAT Act Art. 185(1)). The premises can also be sealed for up to 30 days (Art. 186).

Online shop with cash on delivery: do you need a fiscal device?

It depends on how the customer pays.

Payment method	Fiscal receipt
COD that the courier only collects, e.g. Speedy	Yes. The receipt goes in the parcel and the courier hands it over on payment (N-18 Art. 25(2) and (7)).
COD as a postal money order, e.g. Econt	No. You give a document with the details under Art. 26(1), items 1, 4, 7 and 8, or an invoice (Art. 25(3)–(4)).
Bank transfer to your account	No.
Online card payment	Yes, or a document under the alternative regime of Art. 3(17), with a monthly audit file due by the 15th.
Cash when collecting from your warehouse or showroom	Yes.

If you accept at least one payment method that requires a receipt, you must file your e-shop's details with the NRA under Annex 33 before you start selling. Changes are filed within 7 days (Ordinance N-18, Art. 52m). We cover the two most used couriers in separate articles on Speedy and Econt cash on delivery.

Cash desk, cash vouchers and the cash book

The Accountancy Act does not prescribe a mandatory cash-book form. It does require every business transaction to be supported by a primary document with a name and number, date, subject and value, and for internal documents the name and signature of the person who prepared it (Art. 6(1) and (3)). Off-book records are prohibited (Art. 9). In practice this means:

Every cash receipt and payment is documented with a cash receipt or payment voucher, a fiscal receipt or an invoice.
The cash book, on paper or in your accounting software, is the chronological register of these documents with the day's opening and closing balance. Reconcile it with the cash on hand.
In the fiscal device, every change in cash outside sales, such as the opening float or cash put in or taken out, is registered as "officially entered" or "officially withdrawn" amounts (N-18 Art. 33).
The daily financial report is generated automatically at 23:59:59 for each day with sales, if it was not produced earlier (N-18 Art. 39(1)). Keep it with the cash documents.
Cash on hand is deposited to the bank regularly. A large cash balance draws attention in an audit.

Accounting registers are kept for 10 years, and other accounting records for 3 years from 1 January of the following year (Accountancy Act Art. 12).

Frequently asked questions

Can I accept €3,000 in cash from a customer?

Yes, provided the payment is not part of linked payments totalling €5,112.92 or more. You issue a fiscal receipt at the moment of payment.

Do I need a receipt if the customer pays by bank transfer?

No. Payment to a payment account is excluded from the duty under Ordinance N-18, Art. 3(1). You document the sale with an invoice or another document.

Does the limit apply to loans from the owner to the company?

The Act covers all payments within Bulgaria, subject to the exceptions in Art. 2. Loans are not among them, so a loan of €5,112.92 or more is transferred to an account.